All of us at Oliver & Co were saddened to hear of the recent death of Clive Oliver. Here we pay tribute to the man who founded Oliver & Co Solicitors in 1963.
Clive Oliver was born on 28th June 1936, younger son of Cyril and Mary Ann Oliver and brother to Bernard. His father was a pilot on the Manchester Ship Canal, and the family lived on the Wirral where he attended prep school, before winning a scholarship to Kings School in Chester.
On leaving school, he joined Walker Smith & Way in Chester as an articled clerk. Courteous and approachable, he was a well-respected member of the firm. Keen to further his career, he moved to London to study for his law exams.
Once qualified as a solicitor, Clive joined Durrad Davies Solicitors in Nantwich, followed by a year at Matthew Lewis. Forever the entrepreneur, Clive set up Oliver and Co in Whitby, Ellesmere Port, at the age of 27. Shortly after that, he opened a second office in Ellesmere Port town centre.
In the summer of 1969, Clive met Angela across the court room in Ellesmere Port, in a maintenance case. She was an Assistant Solicitor running the branch office of Walker Smith & Way on the other side of the road to Clive’s office. In the case, Angela was acting for the wife, Clive was for the husband. They married a year later, on 30th September 1970.
In 1973, he purchased 68, Watergate Street, Chester in order to expand. In 1994, Booth Mansion was purchased in Watergate Street and Clive oversaw all the alterations necessary to change the building, which had previously been Sotheby’s Auction House, into suitable office accommodation.
Outside of work, Clive had several passions including tennis, rowing, driving fast cars and taking on building projects where his attention to detail and great vision was a huge asset.
Clive was well known for his fantastic, dry sense of humour and wit. He was a kind, caring, discreet, generous man, gentle in spirit and very proud of his family. A quiet man who kept his thoughts to himself, but when he said something you took note. A true measure of Clive was that no one ever heard him say a bad word about anyone. Clive Oliver is survived by his wife Angela, son James and daughters Charlotte and Victoria.
Clive Oliver; Founder of Oliver & Co Solicitors
1936 – 2019
